I. Budget reliability
Scores by Dimension
Overall Indicator Score
1. Aggregate expenditure outturn
C
Notes:
1.1 Aggregate expenditure outturn
C
Notes:
Aggregate expenditure outturn was between 85% and 115% of the approved aggregate budgeted expenditure in at least two of the last three years.
2. Expenditure composition outturn
D+
Notes:
2.1 Expenditure composition outturn by function
D
Notes:
Aggregate expenditure outturn was between 85% and 115% of the approved aggregate budgeted expenditure in at least two of the last three years
2.2 Expenditure composition outturn by economic type
D*
Notes:
Based on available information, the variance in expenditure composition by economic classification was less than 15% in at least two of the last three years. However, the information available was insufficient to accurately assess the level of performance.
2.3 Expenditure from contingency reserves
A
Notes:
There was no allocation for contingencies in the annual appropriation for any of the last three completed financial years.
Notes:
3.1 Aggregate revenue outturn
B
Notes:
Actual revenue was between 94% and 112% of budgeted revenue in at least two of the last three years.
3.2 Revenue composition outturn
D
Notes:
Variance in revenue composition was more than 15% in at least two of the last three years.
II. Transparency of public finances
Scores by Dimension
Overall Indicator Score
4. Budget classification
D
Notes:
4.1 Budget classification
D
Notes:
The requirement for budget formulation, execution and reporting to be based on administrative and economic classification comparable to GFS level 2 is not fully met.
Notes:
5.1 Budget documentation
C
Notes:
The requirements are met for 3 basic elements out of 4 and no additional elements out of 8.
6. Central government operations outside financial reports
A
Notes:
6.1 Expenditure outside financial reports
A
Notes:
No government expenditures outside financial reports have been identified.
6.2 Revenue outside financial reports
A
Notes:
No government revenues outside financial reports have been identified.
6.3 Financial reports of extrabudgetary units
NA
Notes:
7. Transfers to subnational governments
NA
Notes:
7.1 System for allocating transfers
NA
Notes:
For the purposes of this indicator, Niue has no system of subnational government.
7.2 Timeliness of information on transfers
NA
Notes:
8. Performance information for service delivery
D+
Notes:
8.1 Performance plans for service delivery
D
Notes:
Performance plans for service delivery are not published annually.
8.2 Performance achieved for service delivery
C
Notes:
Information is published annually on the activities performed for the majority of ministries.
8.3 Resources received by service delivery units
B
Notes:
Information on resources received by frontline service delivery units is collected and recorded for at least one large ministry (education). A report compiling the information is prepared at least annually.
8.4 Performance evaluation for service delivery
D
Notes:
Performance evaluations of the efficiency or effectiveness of service delivery are not carried out.
9. Public access to fiscal information
D
Notes:
9.1 Public access to fiscal information
D
Notes:
The requirements are not met for any of the five basic elements, nor any of the four additional elements.
III. Management of assets and liabilities
Scores by Dimension
Overall Indicator Score
10. Fiscal risk reporting
D
Notes:
10.1 Monitoring of public corporations
D
Notes:
Government is not receiving financial reports from most public corporations within nine months of the end of the fiscal year.
10.2 Monitoring of subnational governments
NA
Notes:
There is no material system of subnational government.
10.3 Contingent liabilities and other fiscal risks
D
Notes:
The backlog in the preparation of Government financial statements creates uncertainty in relation to contingent liabilities and other fiscal risks.
11. Public investment management
D+
Notes:
11.1 Economic analysis of investment proposals
D
Notes:
Due to the absence of internal capacity for economic analysis, and the lack of process in place to monitor and manage economic analyses undertaken by development partners.
11.2 Investment project selection
C
Notes:
There is a fixed term plan prioritizing major public investment projects using standard criteria, and a central entity responsible for project selection, but limited internal capacity to review and update the fixed term plan.
11.3 Investment project costing
D
Notes:
Projections of the total capital cost of major investment projects are not shown in the budget documents.
11.4 Investment project monitoring
C
Notes:
The total cost and physical progress of major investment projects are monitored by Government, and reported on in annual reports by the implementing ministry.
12. Public asset management
D+
Notes:
12.1 Financial asset monitoring
C
Notes:
There are records of holdings in major categories of financial assets, but no annual publication of information on performance.
12.2 Nonfinancial asset monitoring
C
Notes:
The government maintains a register of its holdings of fixed assets and collects partial information on their usage and age.
12.3 Transparency of asset disposal
D
Notes:
Procedures and rules for the transfer or disposal of nonfinancial assets are established, but information on transfers and disposals is not included in budget documents or reports.
Notes:
13.1 Recording and reporting of debt and guarantees
NA
Notes:
There is no domestic and foreign debt and guaranteed debt at the time of assessment.
13.2 Approval of debt and guarantees
D
Notes:
There is no primary legislation and no documented policies and procedures with respect to debt-related transactions.
13.3 Debt management strategy
D
Notes:
The Government does not have a publicly available medium-term debt management strategy.
IV. Policy-based fiscal strategy and budgeting
Scores by Dimension
Overall Indicator Score
14. Macroeconomic and fiscal forecasting
D
Notes:
14.1 Macroeconomic forecasts
D
Notes:
No macroeconomic forecasts are prepared.
Notes:
Fiscal forecasts were discontinued after the 2015/16 budget.
14.3 Macrofiscal sensitivity analysis
D
Notes:
No macroeconomic forecasts are prepared.
Notes:
15.1 Fiscal impact of policy proposals
C
Notes:
Government examines the impact on the budget of all new revenue and expenditure measures, but only for the budget year.
15.2 Fiscal strategy adoption
D
Notes:
No formal fiscal strategy is submitted to the legislature in the course of budget preparation.
15.3 Reporting on fiscal outcomes
C
Notes:
Monthly and quarterly variance reports are used to report to Cabinet on fiscal outcomes.
16. Medium-term perspective in expenditure budgeting
D
Notes:
16.1 Medium-term expenditure estimates
D
Notes:
The annual budget contains estimates of expenditure for the budget year only.
16.2 Medium-term expenditure ceilings
D
Notes:
Medium-term expenditure ceilings are not set.
16.3 Alignment of strategic plans and medium-term budgets
C
Notes:
Ministries prepare corporate plans which provide strategic guidance to their annual budget submissions.
16.4 Consistency of budgets with previous year’s estimates
D
Notes:
No medium-term expenditure estimates are prepared.
17. Budget preparation process
D+
Notes:
Notes:
An annual budget calendar exists, and some budgetary units are able to comply with it
17.2 Guidance on budget preparation
D
Notes:
Budget guidelines are issued, but do not contain expenditure ceilings.
17.3 Budget submission to the legislature
D
Notes:
The budget is submitted to the Assembly less than one month before the start of the new financial year.
18. Legislative scrutiny of budgets
C+
Notes:
18.1 Scope of budget scrutiny
C
Notes:
The legislature’s review covers details of expenditure and revenue.
18.2 Legislative procedures for budget scrutiny
B
Notes:
The legislature’s procedures to review budget proposals include a Public Accounts Committee.
18.3 Timing of budget approval
C
Notes:
The legislature has approved the annual budget within one month of the start of the year in two of the last three fiscal years.
18.4 Rules for budget adjustment by the executive
C
Notes:
Clear rules exist for budget adjustments by the executive, but there remains evidence of some overspending.
V. Predictability and control in budget execution
Scores by Dimension
Overall Indicator Score
19. Revenue administration
D+
Notes:
19.1 Rights and obligations for revenue measures
C
Notes:
Tax authorities provide some information to taxpayers on rights and obligations under the tax legislation.
19.2 Revenue risk management
C
Notes:
Some risk management approaches are in place, though these are not fully effective.
19.3 Revenue audit and investigation
D
Notes:
Some desk audits are undertaken, but there is no thorough audit and investigation process in relation to the tax system.
19.4 Revenue arrears monitoring
D*
Notes:
Greentree provides some capacity to monitor tax arrears, but there is no comprehensive data on the stock and age profile of tax arrears.
20. Accounting for revenue
D+
Notes:
20.1 Information on revenue collections
C
Notes:
There is no formal revenue reporting in a consolidated form by a central agency, but monthly reports produced by the Greentree system include comprehensive and up to date information on revenue collections.
20.2 Transfer of revenue collections
A
Notes:
Customs and Income Tax collections have next day transfer to Treasury, and other revenues are paid directly into the Government Account managed by Treasury.
20.3 Revenue accounts reconciliation
D
Notes:
For tax revenues, there is a continuous reconciliation process of collections and transfers to Treasury maintained on the Greentree system. This is not the case for other revenues.
21. Predictability of in-year resource allocation
D+
Notes:
21.1 Consolidation of cash balances
D
Notes:
Bank accounts are not consolidated on a regular basis.
21.2 Cash forecasting and monitoring
D
Notes:
No formal cash flow is prepared, but Treasury undertakes monthly reviews of the cash situation.
21.3 Information on commitment ceilings
D
Notes:
There is no formal process of issuing commitment ceilings, and an informal system of dialogue between Treasury and spending agencies is relied upon.
21.4 Significance of in-year budget adjustments
B
Notes:
In-year budget adjustments imposed by Treasury are rare, though tight cash positions are dealt with by slowing payments.
Notes:
22.1 Stock of expenditure arrears
D*
Notes:
There is no formal system for measuring and monitoring expenditure arrears, and reliance is placed on informal systems.
22.2 Expenditure arrears monitoring
D
Notes:
No data is generated on the stock and composition of expenditure arrears.
Notes:
23.1 Integration of payroll and personnel records
B
Notes:
The payroll is checked against the establishment register fortnightly, and there are clear processes in place for payroll changes.
23.2 Management of payroll changes
A
Notes:
Changes to the payroll are processed fortnightly, and retroactive adjustments are rare.
23.3 Internal control of payroll
B
Notes:
The authority and basis for changes to personnel records and the payroll are clear, and a high level of data integrity is achieved.
Notes:
There are no formal payroll audits undertaken.
Notes:
24.1 Procurement monitoring
D
Notes:
There is no procurement legislation, and no data available on contracts awarded.
24.2 Procurement methods
D*
Notes:
Insufficient data on the proportion of procurement handled through competitive processes.
24.3 Public access to procurement information
D
Notes:
Only bidding opportunities are published.
24.4 Procurement complaints management
D
Notes:
There is no formal mechanism for dealing with complaints.
25. Internal controls on nonsalary expenditure
C+
Notes:
25.1 Segregation of duties
C
Notes:
Segregation of duties is prescribed throughout the expenditure process, though Treasury regulations are in need of review
25.2 Effectiveness of expenditure commitment controls
C
Notes:
Controls in place through the purchase order system are reasonably effective, though the FMIS has no commitments module.
25.3 Compliance with payment rules and procedures
B
Notes:
Treasury estimates compliance with transaction procedures to be at 80 percent.
Notes:
26.1 Coverage of internal audit
D
Notes:
There is no internal audit function.
26.2 Nature of audits and standards applied
NA
Notes:
26.3 Implementation of internal audits and reporting
NA
Notes:
26.4 Response to internal audits
NA
Notes:
VI. Accounting and reporting
Scores by Dimension
Overall Indicator Score
27. Financial data integrity
B
Notes:
27.1 Bank account reconciliation
B
Notes:
Bank reconciliations done monthly for all accounts, with little delay.
Notes:
Suspense accounts are reconciled monthly, and cleared no later than the end of the financial year unless duly justified.
Notes:
Advance accounts are rare, as travel is almost always externally funded.
27.4 Financial data integrity processes
C
Notes:
Data entry is centralized in the Treasury. No formal process for verifying data integrity and establishing an audit trail.
28. In-year budget reports
C+
Notes:
28.1 Coverage and comparability of reports
A
Notes:
In-year budget reports have full coverage of and comparability with the approved budget.
28.2 Timing of in-year budget reports
A
Notes:
In-year budget reports are accessible to spending agencies monthly, and are used by them on a regular basis.
28.3 Accuracy of in-year budget reports
C
Notes:
Expenditure data is captured only at payment stage, but data is useful for spending agencies and others to analyze budget execution.
29. Annual financial reports
D+
Notes:
29.1 Completeness of annual financial reports
D
Notes:
No financial statement has been prepared for the last completed financial year.
29.2 Submission of reports for external audit
D
Notes:
The last completed financial statement submitted for audit were for the 2013/14 financial year, which was authorized for issue on 11 November 2016.
29.3 Accounting standards
C
Notes:
Financial statements are prepared in accordance with NGAAP, and this is disclosed in the statements.
VII. External scrutiny and audit
Scores by Dimension
Overall Indicator Score
Notes:
30.1 Audit coverage and standards
D
Notes:
Coverage and standards represent good practice, but there are significant delays in submitting accounts for audit.
30.2 Submission of audit reports to the legislature
D
Notes:
Audit reports are submitted to the Assembly and considered by the PAC, but there have been no reports for at least the last three years.
30.3 External audit follow-up
D
Notes:
No audit reports recently due to delays in finalizing accounts. No evidence of a formal response to earlier reports.
30.4 Supreme Audit Institution independence
B
Notes:
The SAI is independent. Audit reports are tabled in the Assembly, but not published elsewhere by the Government.
31. Legislative scrutiny of audit reports
D
Notes:
31.1 Timing of audit report scrutiny
D
Notes:
PAC would normally consider audit reports and report to the Assembly, but no audit reports have been submitted to the Assembly for the any of the last three completed financial years.
31.2 Hearings on audit findings
D
Notes:
Formal hearings not normally held, but no audit reports have been submitted to the Assembly for the any of the last three completed financial years.
31.3 Recommendations on audit by the legislature
D
Notes:
PAC would normally make recommendations, but no audit reports have been submitted to the Assembly for the any of the last three completed financial years.
31.4 Transparency of legislative scrutiny of audit reports
D
Notes:
Public hearings or publication of PAC reports not generally undertaken, but no audit reports have been submitted to the Assembly for the any of the last three completed financial years.